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Ancient Romans Drying up of Natural Resources
facts

Deforestation was a major issue because romans used a lot of timber and the roots would hold dirt and soil in place causing erosion and unfertile soil. This caused soil depletion and loss of topsoil
Marshlands were caused due to the erosion and spread malaria
Conquered people were discovered running into forests to escape the romans making the legionaries burn down all the forests
Without the timber and other resources industries were forced to move southwards causing more trade and more pirates
From 100 AD to 700 AD the average rainfall dropped from 3 ft to 1.6 ft causing droughts
Agriculture was the biggest part of the Roman economy, and most Romans were farmers. Farmers raised sheep, goats, poultry, cattle, and hogs. In the valleys that surrounded Rome, the farmers grew barley, grapes, wheat, olives and rye.They were all grown on the hillsides. As the empire expanded, Rome gained more natural resources. The Africans produced a lot of olive oil, a substance used for cooking and fuel. In about the middle of the 5th century CE, the colder and the wetter climates that were developing in Northern and Western Europe caused a lot of flooding. This prevented the farmers from being able to farm, and destroyed some natural resources.
Droughts caused even less crops to grow, making the worst starvation time from 100-700 AD
without the resources Rome depended on imports
Silver was hard to come by making coins less in value, inflation
Raising temperatures and global warming in causing more droughts and natural gas to dry up

United States Drying up of Natural Resources Facts

Since 2005 prices for corn and wheat have tripled while rice quintupled
Today because of overpopulation there are less farming spaces, so there is less food. Soon they will be overworked and unable to be used at all
With all the new technology manufacturing much coal is being used up and there is none to spare
With all the pollution from gases it is making oxygen and many other gases acids not allowing us to find important, much needed gases
With new experiments to make life easier and more enjoyable, rare resources are being used, a large percent of experiments (headphones, powerful magnets, etc.) work well and are high in demand, but the materials are so rare that only so many can be made.
lakes are being dried up because of the populations of people and the water has to come from somewhere. Owens Lake, Aral Sea, Lake Chad, Colorado River, Lake Badwater, Lake Powell, and Lake Mead. Some of the lakes and rivers are not all dried up but they are almost dried up.

Problems and Solutions

The main problems were deforestation, and Silver. Deforestation was a major issue because romans used a lot of timber ( wood ) and the roots would hold dirt and soil in place causing erosion and unfertile soil. Without the timber and other resources industries were forced to move southwards causing more trade and more pirates.
This caused soil depletion and loss of topsoil. If we cut down a tree we would plant two trees in return and this helps the soil and the insects and animals that live in those surroundings. Silver was hard to come by making coins less in value witch caused inflation. Now we would make our money with different materials for example we have many different things we use as money such as the $5 bill and the $10 bill so that helps the economy to help us not do what the ancient Romans did.
There are many other natural resources the Romans lost and one is marshlands were caused due to the erosion and spread of malaria. We have planted many trees to help prevent erosion and have found ways to prevent all of thees horrible diseases from harming us.

Expert Contact:

Dear Sir,
I am a 7th grader at Nagle Middle School in Cincinnati Ohio. I would like to ask you some questions about the drying up of Rome's natural resources.

Did the Romans ever find something to substitute for the resources once they dried up?
How many natural resources did the romans have that dried up?
What were the natural resources that dried up?
Did the Romans know that their resources were going to dry up? If so, why didn't they try to stop it?

I appreciate your time in offering your answers. Thank you for helping me better understand the history of Rome's natural resources.

Sincerely,
Jack Fredette
Has not Responded

sources:
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/photos/7-lakes-and-rivers-that-are-drying-up/lake-mead
http://www.dylan.org.uk/greer_on_collapse.pdf
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/photos/rivers-run-dry/